David M. Satterfield

David Satterfield
Satterfield in 2017
Special Envoy for Middle East Humanitarian Issues
In office
October 15, 2023 – April 25, 2024
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byPosition created
Succeeded byLise Grande
United States Ambassador to Turkey
In office
August 28, 2019 – January 7, 2022
PresidentDonald Trump
Joe Biden
DeputyScott M. Oudkirk
Preceded byJohn R. Bass
Succeeded byJeff Flake
Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs
In office
September 2017 – June 2019
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byAnne W. Patterson
Succeeded byDavid Schenker
United States Ambassador to Lebanon
In office
September 23, 1998 – June 10, 2001
PresidentBill Clinton
George W. Bush
Preceded byRichard Henry Jones
Succeeded byVincent M. Battle
Personal details
Born (1954-12-18) December 18, 1954 (age 69)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
SpouseElizabeth Fritschle
EducationUniversity of Maryland, College Park (BA)

David Michael Satterfield (born December 18, 1954) is an American diplomat and ambassador, who has served extensively in the Middle East, including the Persian Gulf area, Lebanon, and Iraq. He later served as a senior advisor on Iraq for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and was director general of the Multinational Force and Observers, the peacekeeping force for the Sinai Peninsula from June 2009 until August 2017. He was chargé d'affaires to Egypt from August 2013 to January 2014 and was subsequently Special Advisor to the Secretary of State for Libya. From September 2017 to June 2019 he served as the acting assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs,[1] and was confirmed as U.S. ambassador to Turkey on June 27, 2019.[2]

On February 15, 2019, President Donald Trump announced his intention to appoint Satterfield as the next United States Ambassador to Turkey, succeeding John Bass.[3] On May 17, 2019, U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley placed a hold on Satterfield over a dispute with the State Department regarding a new terrorism bill.[4] On June 27, 2019, Satterfield was confirmed by the Senate.[5]

In January 2022, David Satterfield became the new U.S. envoy for the Horn of Africa, a position he held until June 2022. On May 31, Rice University announced that Satterfield would become the new director of Rice University's James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, succeeding Edward Djerejian.[6]

During the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, Satterfield served as the inaugural Special Envoy for Middle East Humanitarian Issues from October 2023 to April 2024.

  1. ^ "David M. Satterfield". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  2. ^ "U.S. Ambassador-Designate David M. Satterfield". U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Turkey. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  3. ^ Griffiths, Brent D. (15 February 2019). "Trump taps Jeffrey Byard as new FEMA head". Politico. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  4. ^ "Republican senator blocking Trump's pick for Turkey ambassador". Ahval. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  5. ^ "PN409 - Nomination of David Michael Satterfield for Department of State, 116th Congress (2019-2020)". www.congress.gov. 2019-06-27. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  6. ^ "Leading US diplomat David Satterfield named director of Rice's Baker Institute". Rice University. Retrieved 2022-05-31.